Handwashing and Detergent Treatment Greatly Reduce SARS-CoV-2 Viral Load on Halloween Candy Handled by COVID-19 Patients

ABSTRACT Although SARS-CoV-2 is primarily transmitted by respiratory droplets and aerosols, transmission by fomites remains plausible. During Halloween, a major event for children in numerous countries, SARS-CoV-2 transmission risk via candy fomites worries many parents. To address this concern, we enrolled 10 recently diagnosed asymptomatic or mildly/moderately symptomatic COVID-19 patients to handle typical Halloween candy (pieces individually wrapped) under three conditions: normal handling with unwashed hands, deliberate coughing and extensive touching, and normal handling following handwashing. We then used a factorial design to subject the candies to two posthandling treatments: no washing (untreated) and household dishwashing detergent. We measured SARS-CoV-2 load by reverse transcriptase quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) and loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP). From the candies not washed posthandling, we detected SARS-CoV-2 on 60% of candies that were deliberately coughed on, 60% of candies normally handled with unwashed hands, but only 10% of candies handled after hand washing. We found that treating candy with dishwashing detergent reduced SARS-CoV-2 load by 62.1% in comparison to untreated candy. Taken together, these results suggest that although the risk of transmission of SARS-CoV-2 by fomites is low even from known COVID-19 patients, viral RNA load can be reduced to near zero by the combination of handwashing by the infected patient and ≥1 min detergent treatment after collection. We also found that the inexpensive and fast LAMP protocol was more than 80% concordant with RT-qPCR. IMPORTANCE The COVID-19 pandemic is leading to important tradeoffs between risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) transmission and mental health due to deprivation from normal activities, with these impacts being especially profound in children. Due to the ongoing pandemic, Halloween activities will be curtailed as a result of the concern that candy from strangers might act as fomites. Here, we demonstrate that these risks can be mitigated by ensuring that, prior to handling candy, the candy giver washes their hands and, after receipt, by washing candy with household dishwashing detergent. Even in the most extreme case, with candy deliberately coughed on by known COVID-19 patients, viral load was reduced dramatically after washing with household detergent. We conclude that with reasonable precautions, even if followed only by either the candy giver or the candy recipient, the risk of viral transmission by this route is very low.

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Linkage to intensive adherence counselling among HIV-positive persons on ART with detectable viral load in Gomba district, rural Uganda

AIDS Research and Therapy ◽

10.1186/s12981-021-00349-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Rita Nakalega ◽

Nelson Mukiza ◽

Henry Debem ◽

George Kiwanuka ◽

Ronald Makanga Kakumba ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Viral Load ◽

Health Center ◽

Health Facility ◽

Transmission Risk ◽

World Health ◽

Hiv Positive ◽

Art Adherence ◽

Detectable Viral Load ◽

Adherence Support ◽

Adherence Counselling

Abstract Background Antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence is a primary determinant of sustained viral suppression, HIV transmission risk, disease progression and death. The World Health Organization recommends that adherence support interventions be provided to people on ART, but implementation is suboptimal. We evaluated linkage to intensive adherence counselling (IAC) for persons on ART with detectable viral load (VL). Methods Between January and December 2017, we conducted a retrospective chart review of HIV-positive persons on ART with detectable VL (> 1000 copies/ml), in Gomba district, rural Uganda. We abstracted records from eight HIV clinics; seven health center III’s (facilities which provide basic preventive and curative care and are headed by clinical officers) and a health center IV (mini-hospital headed by a medical doctor). Linkage to IAC was defined as provision of IAC to ART clients with detectable VL within three months of receipt of results at the health facility. Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate factors associated with linkage to IAC. Results Of 4,100 HIV-positive persons on ART for at least 6 months, 411 (10%) had detectable VL. The median age was 32 years (interquartile range [IQR] 13–43) and 52% were female. The median duration on ART was 3.2 years (IQR 1.8–4.8). A total of 311 ART clients (81%) were linked to IAC. Receipt of ART at a Health Center level IV was associated with a two-fold higher odds of IAC linkage compared with Health Center level III (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.78; 95% CI 1.00–3.16; p = 0.01). Age, gender, marital status and ART duration were not related to IAC linkage. Conclusions Linkage to IAC was high among persons with detectable VL in rural Uganda, with greater odds of linkage at a higher-level health facility. Strategies to optimize IAC linkage at lower-level health facilities for persons with suboptimal ART adherence are needed.

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The Potential for Transmission of Coronaviruses via Sports Equipment; A Cricket Case Study

International Journal of Sports Medicine ◽

10.1055/a-1500-4620 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Rory England ◽

Nicholas Peirce ◽

Joseph Torresi ◽

Sean Mitchell ◽

Andy Harland

Keyword(s):

Viral Load ◽

Mitigation Strategies ◽

Infected Person ◽

Review Of Literature ◽

Airborne Transmission ◽

Social Distancing ◽

Transmission Pathways ◽

Respiratory Droplets

AbstractA review of literature on the role of fomites in transmission of coronaviruses informed the development of a framework which was used to qualitatively analyse a cricket case study, where equipment is shared and passed around, and identify potential mitigation strategies. A range of pathways were identified that might in theory allow coronavirus transmission from an infected person to a non-infected person via communal or personal equipment fomites or both. Eighteen percent of potential fomite based interactions were found to be non-essential to play including all contact with another persons equipment. Six opportunities to interrupt the transmission pathway were identified, including the recommendation to screen participants for symptoms prior to play. Social distancing between participants and avoiding unnecessary surface contact provides two opportunities; firstly to avoid equipment exposure to infected respiratory droplets and secondly to avoid uninfected participants touching potential fomites. Hand sanitisation and equipment sanitisation provide two further opportunities by directly inactivating coronavirus. Preventing players from touching their mucosal membranes with their hands represents the sixth potential interruption. Whilst potential fomite transmission pathways were identified, evidence suggests that viral load will be substantially reduced during surface transfer. Mitigation strategies could further reduce potential fomites, suggesting that by comparison, direct airborne transmission presents the greater risk in cricket.

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Risk assessment for long and short range airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2, indoors and outdoors, using carbon dioxide measurements.

10.1101/2021.05.04.21256352 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Florian Poydenot ◽

Ismael Abdourahamane ◽

Elsa Caplain ◽

Samuel Der ◽

Jacques Haiech ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Health Policy ◽

Public Health Policy ◽

Short Range ◽

Epidemiological Data ◽

Public Spaces ◽

Viral Transmission ◽

Transmission Risk ◽

Reproduction Rate ◽

Airborne Transmission

A quantitative analysis of the viral transmission risk in public spaces al- lows us to identify the dominant mechanisms that a proactive public health policy can act upon to reduce risk, and to evaluate the reduction of risk that can be obtained. The contribution of public spaces to the propa- gation of SARS-CoV-2 can be reduced to a level necessary for a declining epidemic, i.e. an overall reproduction rate below one. Here, we revisit the quantitative assessment of indoor and outdoor transmission risk. We show that the long-range aerosol transmission is controlled by the flow rate of fresh air and by the mask filtering quality, and is quantitatively re- lated to the CO2 concentration, regardless the room volume and the num- ber of people. The short-range airborne transmission is investigated ex- perimentally using dedicated dispersion experiments performed in two shopping malls. Exhaled aerosols are dispersed by turbulent draughts in a cone, leading to a concentration inversely proportional to the squared dis- tance and to the flow velocity. We show that the average infection dose, called the viral quantum, can be determined from epidemiological data in a manner consistent with biological experimental data. Practical implications. The results provide quantitative guidance useful for making rational public health policy decisions to prevent the dominant routes of viral transmission through reinforced ventilation, air purification, mechanical dispersion using fans, and incentivizing the wear- ing of correctly fitted, quality facial masks (surgical masks, possibly cov- ered by another fabric mask, or non-medical FFP2 masks). Taken to- gether, such measures significantly reduce the airborne transmission risk of SARS-CoV-2.

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Increased mTOR signaling, impaired autophagic flux and cell-to-cell viral transmission are hallmarks of SARS-CoV-2 infection.

10.1101/2021.10.13.464225 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Grazielle Celeste Maktura ◽

Thomaz Luscher Dias ◽

Erika Pereira Zambalde ◽

Bianca Brenha ◽

Mariene R. Amorim ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Data Mining ◽

Viral Load ◽

Viral Infections ◽

Vesicle Fusion ◽

Viral Transmission ◽

Mtor Signaling ◽

Autophagic Flux ◽

Transcriptomic Data ◽

Expression Of Genes ◽

Virus Retention

The COVID-19 disease caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has two characteristics that distinguish it from other viral infections. It affects more severely people with pre-existing comorbidities and viral load peaks prior to the onset of the symptoms. Investigating factors that could contribute to these characteristics, we found increased mTOR signaling and suppressed genes related to autophagy, lysosome, and vesicle fusion in Vero E6 cells infected with SARS-CoV-2. Transcriptomic data mining of bronchoalveolar epithelial cells from severe COVID-19 patients revealed that COVID-19 severity is associated with increased expression of genes related to mTOR signaling and decreased expression of genes related to au-tophagy, lysosome function, and vesicle fusion. SARS-CoV-2 infection in Vero E6 cells also re-sulted in virus retention inside the cells and trafficking of virus-bearing vesicles between neighboring cells. Our findings support a scenario where SARS-CoV-2 benefits from compromised autophagic flux and inhibited exocytosis in individuals with chronic hyperactivation of mTOR signaling, which might relate to undetectable proliferation and evasion of the immune system.

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Viral hauntology: Specters of AIDS in infrastructures of gay sexual sociability

10.31235/osf.io/ypgsv ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Kristian Møller ◽

Chase Ledin

Keyword(s):

Viral Load ◽

Hiv Infection ◽

Case Studies ◽

Viral Transmission ◽

Hiv Treatment ◽

Social Lives ◽

Medical Regimen ◽

Somatic Condition ◽

Exposure Prophylaxis ◽

Hiv Negative

In recent years, HIV treatment has become so effective that a patients’ viral load can become so low that it is undetectable, which in turn reduces the risk of viral transmission to zero. At the same time for people who are HIV negative, the use of the medical regimen “pre-exposure prophylaxis”, or “PrEP”, reduces the risk of HIV infection by 92%-99%. In case studies of "the PrEP whore" and health disclosure on gay hookup apps, we think about HIV/AIDS not only as a somatic condition affecting a body, but also as a socio-technical matter. We argue that our concept of "viral hauntology" allows us to think deeply about how “old” technologies and their social lives fold over and into new ones, and how the folding process “drags” in order to imagine other, more inclusive, gay socio-sexual futures.

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